“I surprised him a little. Would probably have had him, if Sandra hadn’t intervened,” I said. “What’s the deal with the five of coins?”
“That’s not really what I’ve been reading up on,” Rose said.
“I have. Five of coins is poverty,” Alexis said. “Loss. In practitioner circles, one’s ‘wealth’ is usually measured in terms of power, so a loss of powers. Might be being forsworn, might be a loss of something else that’s vital.”
Rose frowned. “Who was going bankrupt?”
“Alister, and the Behaims as a consequence, while I’m thinking it through,” I said. “He predicted he could heal the damage I could do with the Hyena here, but I guess it would have been costly?”
“Something like that, Rose said.
“I was close,” I said. “I was going to cut him. Because it seemed to be the thing that scared him most, after that card showed up. I wanted to do something that would take Alister out of the running, whether it was leaving a scar so maybe people wouldn’t have confidence in him, or forcing him to spend far more than he should.”
“That would have been convenient,” Rose said.
“Right?” I asked. “Sandra stepped in. She’s got this, I dunno, web, or net, connecting everything in Jacob’s Bell. If any big guns are deployed, she knows about it, and can respond accordingly.”
“Something like that would need anchor points,” Rose said. “You can’t suspend a web without attaching it to something. Odds are good that she had her people draw symbols at key points or landmarks around the city. Okay.”
“She was there with one of Johannes’ people. The other three players all in one place, and they weren’t killing each other,” I said. “After dark, apparently, is when it all gets nasty.”
“I know that last part too. Which of Johannes’ people?”
“Tall, brown-skinned man with glowing eyes, called Eblis?”
“Djinn. That’s telling,” Rose mused.
“I thought he was keeping the Djinn close to home?” Ty asked.
“He was, at least,” Rose said. “If he’s willing to send them out on errands, it says something about how confident he feels. His area is probably fortified, and he’s making displays of strength.”
“Or his area isn’t as fortified as that implies, and he’s trying to mislead us,” I said.
“Yes,” Rose said, “Or something else altogether.”
I paced, moving across the various surfaces. I couldn’t hear the bell inside the house, but the effects still lingered, making me feel restless.
“T-minus thirteen hours to midnight,” Ty said. “The full set of barriers aren’t up, we’re probably not going to get a lot of visitors. Since only a few of us can work in the same room at the same time before we’re bumping into each other, we should nap in shifts, so we’re well rested when the time comes.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’m available to help if you want.”
“Wouldn’t hurt,” Rose admitted, sounding more than a little reluctant. “Maybe we can station you elsewhere in the house, or we could set up mirrors in places the rest of us can’t easily cover.”
“I prefer the second idea to the first,” I told her. “Feels less like something you’re doing to me to keep me out of the way and more like I’m genuinely helping. ”
“Good,” she said. “Second idea it is. Since you still seem to maintain a degree of connection, I’ll put Evan on the same duty. If there’s a problem you can’t handle, send him, we’ll figure it out.”
“If I was better equipped to act, I’d be able to handle more problems, which would help,” I said.
“I won’t let you read the books,” Rose said, with finality.
“That’s-” I started. I grit my teeth and stopped at that.
In the pause that followed, none of my friends spoke up in my defense, urging her to let me have access or give our side more firepower.
I had to twist my own arm on a mental level to force my thoughts in the right directions: they were my friends, however they were acting now. It was outside interference that was making them so much more loyal to Rose.
I had to protect them.
“Alright,” I said, though I had to force the word out of my mouth.
She gave me a curt nod. “Now, it does matter if they were all together like that and not actively hostile.”
“They were,” I said. “If there was hostility, it wasn’t while I was around.”
“That means we’re in a precarious position. They know our defenses are down. They’re united in their desire to remove us.”
“How?” I asked. “How would they do it? You set up the dead man’s switch. If you don’t actively keep the Barber contained, and I’m really trying to keep from going into detail about why this is a bad idea, then they’ll have a demon to deal with. A demon that’s apparently one significant tier up from what we fought in the factory.”
“I can’t tell you the details about the switch,” Rose said.
I hit the nearest shelf before I realized what I was doing. A book toppled on the far side, falling to the floor.
I was aware of the eyes on me.
“Blake,” Alexis said. “Don’t get upset.”
“We’re on the same side,” I told her.
“Yeah. We are,” Alexis said.
“Then why are you hiding things from me?” I asked. “Do you think I’ll go out of control? Am I supposed to turn evil?”
“No,” Rose said. “Nothing’s confirmed in that department. It’s possible, if the human in you loses out to the Other, but nothing’s confirmed. That’s not the concern.”
“Then what is the concern?” I asked, barely controlling the tone of my voice.
“We can’t-”
“You can!” I felt the television screen vibrate from the volume.
I regretted it immediately.
I could feel notes of fear from the others. Even Rose.
I liked the clarity it gave me, even as I hated the idea of it on a cognitive level.
“You can,” I said. “Because I really want to work with you, but I’ll go crazy if this keeps up, and I’m not sure I trust myself to hold it all together. I can’t think of anything you’d say that would be more harmful or troublesome than leaving me to guess and assume the worst.”
Rose had her arms folded. She wasn’t looking at me, though her brow was knit.
“I was talking with Alistar in the midst of the fight earlier. I had one pointed comment for him, I’m trying to remember how it went. Something about bringing prophecies to pass, in the course of trying to avert them. Now, maybe what you’re dealing with here isn’t a prophecy, but more like a-”
Rose was shaking her head.
“No?” I asked.
“No. Stop right there. I’m not discussing this. I’m not giving you hints.”
I turned, and I stalked away before I could say anything I regretted. I paced around the room.
Being here like this was going to make me lose my mind.
“Okay,” I said. “Keep me in the dark. Fine. Your choice. But remember, grandmother had me put together for a reason. I’d like to think she picked traits that would complement me as a vestige, and traits that would keep me fighting. Tenacity, strength. What did Isadora call me? ‘Little warrior’?”